


Two Archaeologists

by sonictrowel



Series: Long Night in the Blue House [22]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: !!, Domestic, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Light Angst, Plot, Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 04:49:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10506624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonictrowel/pseuds/sonictrowel
Summary: Milly successfully defended her dissertation, and three weeks later the Doctor and Nardole sat in the stands at Darillium University, while Milly and River were down on the pitch in caps and gowns.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Bit nervous about posting this one because I hope it's a worthy payoff! Circumstances aren't terribly dramatic or anything but, well, it's not that kinda 24 years, for the most part. :) And not that there isn't more to the mystery, but well, spoilers!
> 
> I would say I might take a mid-fic break but I think I've established I cannot predict when or if this will stop demanding me to write it so, we'll just have to see. :)

Milly successfully defended her dissertation, and three weeks later the Doctor and Nardole sat in the stands at Darillium University, while Milly and River were down on the pitch in caps and gowns.

“You’re the odd man out now, Nardole,” the Doctor said, as they waited for the guest speakers to finish up and get to the graduating bit.  “New requirement: all TARDIS crew must be doctors.  The Doctor’s doctors.  Team the Doctor.  Team TARDIS Doctors.  No, never mind, no name.”

“Can it really be called a crew on a ship that’s being a house?”

“There can be stationary crews,” the Doctor replied, a bit defensively.

“How d’you know I haven’t got a doctorate, anyway?  I might have.”

“In what?  Art history?  Astrophysics?”

“Philosophy,” said Nardole.

The Doctor looked over at him, eyebrows raised.  “Have you really?”

“Well, no, but for all you knew I could’ve.”

The Doctor chuckled.

“What are you a doctor of, anyway?” Nardole asked.

“Oh, loads of things.”

“Yes, sounds _very_ official.”

“'Course it’s official, I _invented_ doctoring.  I’m the original Doctor-er.”

“So you made up the word?” Nardole asked sceptically.

“Well, I mean, it’s one of those sort of, of, circular, wibbly, bootstrappy... things.”

“Always is with you, isn’t it?”

“Apparently,” the Doctor sighed, looking back down to the pitch.

The four of them went out for lunch to celebrate after the ceremony.  The Doctor had a cake waiting at home, which read:

 

You’re an

Archaeologist now!

Deepest Condolences

 

He somehow ended up being ambushed with icing from both sides.

___

A week later, Milly was packing her things.  She and River holed up in her bedroom after dinner one night, going through the last of the belongings she’d collected over the past six years (there were mostly just notes and textbooks left) and loading up the bigger-on-the-inside luggage the Doctor had tampered with.  Around midnight, he came to linger in the doorway, feeling unsure of what to do with himself.  River met his eyes for a moment and flashed him a wistful smile, before looking back down at the papers she was sorting through.   Milly’s room looked so bizarrely empty.

“Milly, if you’re going to work on publishing your dissertation before you look for a permanent position, I do have some experience in that area,” River said.  “I could help you get started if you wanted to stay even a few more weeks.”

Milly smiled sadly at her and briefly glanced over at the Doctor.  “I would really love to, Professor, honestly.  But my family’s pretty keen on having me back on the planet.  It’s been a long time.”

“Of course, they must miss you,” River said, not letting the disappointment the Doctor knew she felt bleed into her voice.

“I’ll be sure to keep in touch— I’ve got the TARDIS’s number.”

“And  _I’ll_ be sure to pick up,” River said, looking to the Doctor in the doorway again.  He scrunched his nose at her.  “It’ll be an entirely new phenomenon for communications on this ship.  And if you ever need a reference you know I’ll be happy to give it. ”

The Doctor shared another sympathetic look with his wife before he wandered back into the lounge.  Nardole was reading on the sofa.  He sat down heavily on the opposite side.

“Alright, Doctor?”

“Yeah, fine,” he said.  “Mils is taking the shuttle out in the morning.”

“I thought her family had some kind of spacecraft.  Weren’t they always giving her a lift before?”

“I, uh, guess they’re busy.”

“Never been to Earth,” Nardole mused.  “Is it nice?”

“Not everyone seems to like it as much as I do,” said the Doctor.  “Always something going on, though.”

Nardole chuckled.  “And here there’s never anything going on.”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect that to be as nice as it is.”

“‘Nothing’ certainly beats being a head stuck in a giant robot.”

“You’re welcome.”

Nardole soon retired to bed, and then River came into the lounge, saying she’d like to be up early to see Milly off.  She’d never had to watch a companion leave and return to their own life before.  It was hard, but the Doctor had learned so many times— and especially, _painfully,_ with the Ponds— that it was the best possible way to say goodbye.  Every alternative was much worse.  He kissed River goodnight and promised to be along soon.

Milly found him only a few minutes after he’d wandered into the control room.

“So you’re off in the morning,” he said, toying with a springy thing on the console and trying to keep his voice light.

“Yeah,” she replied regretfully.  “Thank you so much, though, really.  For everything.”

“Oh, stop that,” he grumbled.  “I haven’t done anything.  River’s the one who does things.”  He frowned.  “She’s pretty broken up about you going."

“I know,” Milly said softly.  “I’m really going to miss her.  But listen, when tonight’s done, come and find me right away.  You shouldn’t be alone.  Well you won’t be— you’ll bring Nardole— but, just, come right away.  I’ll be younger then.  Won’t have done any of this yet.”

“Where are you going now?”

“Better if I don’t say.”

“You know I’m not leaving this rock for another eleven years, Mils.  I’m not going to track you down.”

“Well, that’s not strictly relevant when you have a time machine, but… no, it’s just better if you don’t know.”

“You are in trouble, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Okay, you _definitely_ are.”

She sighed.  “Like I told you, I’ve already got you driving me bloody insane from multiple points in time, I don’t need any of your concern, Doctor. _Your_ only job is making sure you do everything future yous have already done.  Focus on saving your wife.  Eventually we’ll meet up again and get back to work on it together.”

“You will actually phone us?  This you?  So we know you’re alright?"

“Whenever I can,” she said.  “Now, here’s where you’ll find me next.”  She pulled a folded, torn-out notebook page from her pocket and handed it to him.  “I’ve got a flat in Tarragona Nueva on Calderon Delta in 5102, down by the water.  Well, I did have, back then.”

“Oh,” he looked up at her, “really?  River and me, we spent a lot of time—”

“—on Calderon Beta, I know,” she smiled.  “Pretty rubbish there on any other night in the history of time, though.”

He shook his head, smiling reluctantly.  Should have figured she knew everything.

“And um, there’s something else.  You knew this already, when you showed up, so…” she sighed heavily and looked down at the floor, nervously picking at her fingers.

“Bit ominous again...” the Doctor said, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with seeing her so flustered.  It was a new and unnatural sight.

“I, ah... Well.”  She cleared her throat and looked up again, squaring her shoulders.  “I didn’t go by Milly there.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, actually, only my family ever really called me that.  Well, my mum.  My dad, uh.  He usually calls me Mils.”

The Doctor’s hearts froze for a moment and his mouth went dry.  “Oh,” he croaked.  "Are you, uh.  What are you trying—"

“Milly’s short for Amelia.”  Her bright eyes shone in the dim TARDIS lights.  

All the breath rushed out of his lungs at once.  His eyes stung, but gradually he realised he was laughing.  

“Amelia.  Yeah, 'course it is.  Of course you are.”

She smiled nervously, hopefully.

“I just bet you’re not a Smith, either.”

She shook her head slowly.  “A Song, I’m afraid.”

The Doctor laughed again, dazed.  But, of course.  Of course.  It wasn’t really a surprise.  Except it _really_ was.

Milly started to step toward him.  “Um, can I—?”

He met her in the middle and wrapped her in a tight hug, his chin resting on top of her head as he stared up into the TARDIS in mute astonishment.  He wasn’t sure how long they didn’t move or speak while his mind attempted to reorientate itself.

“Two. fucking. archaeologists.” he suddenly muttered.  Milly pulled away as she burst into laughter.  

“You love us, admit it.”

“Hmpf,” he grunted in reply, smiling.

“Did you know?” she asked, almost timidly.

He laughed again, or maybe he was crying.  Hard to say.  

“You and River both, you’re not as subtle as you think.  But I just— I was bloody terrified to believe it,” he finished hoarsely.

“I know you want to tell Mum,” she said, and the Doctor let out another delirious sort-of-laughing sound, “but you can’t, not yet.  That’s why I didn’t say before; I knew it would be harder to keep it quiet with me here.”

“She would be so happy, Mils.  Shit.  She deserves to know.  She really— she'll be so happy.”

“I’m sorry, but you know how it works.  She doesn’t know yet.”

“I— wait,” the Doctor was suddenly gripped by a very urgent thought, “ _When?_  When were you—”

“Now that’s _definitely_ a spoiler.”

“But, just, _before?_  Or, or— is there an after?  Are you from after?”

She shrugged innocently.

He sighed.  “Fine.  Okay.  How old are you really?”

She gave him a withering look.  “Don’t make me keep saying it.”

“Two hearts?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Still on your first body?”

“Oh, come on.”

“Fine.  What am I thinking?”

Milly stepped closer and poked him in the forehead, immediately wincing and laughing.  “Uh, sort of screaming with a lot of swear words?”

“Oh, er, that’s not what I meant to...”

“Calm down,” she giggled.  “You’re fine.”

“Are you,” his voice nearly cracked and he cleared his throat, “I mean, have you got any, um, siblings?”

“You really need to stop fishing.”

The Doctor shook his head, pressing the heel of his palm against his forehead.  “I don’t even know what to…”  The laughing resumed.  Possibly it was a form of shock.  He might need to sit down.  “I... hope I wasn’t rubbish, at all of that.  I haven’t done it in a…” he swallowed.  “A long time.”

“Nah,” she said cheerfully, “you’re alright.”

“Well,” he managed eventually, “it’s... it’s very nice to meet you, Amelia.”

“Likewise, Dad.”  His head spun.

“Do you really have to go tomorrow?” he asked, suddenly feeling completely miserable.

“Yeah.  I’m sorry.”

“Shit.”  He sighed.  “Wish you didn’t.”

“Just enjoy your gazillionth honeymoon.  I’m sure I’m going to be a total pain in the arse when I show up the long way round.  I’m given to understand that’s generally how it goes.”

“It’s…” he tried not to choke on the word that was about to come out of his mouth, “it’s not so bad when you speak Baby.”

Milly chuckled.

“Wait, so— hang on— have you always lived around all humans?  Did we really live on Earth?  Cause Gallifrey, it’s, y’know, there now.   _Not_ that I have much interest in living with those pricks but, well, at least you don’t have to be the last Time Lord.  It’s not as much fun as I let on.”

“That’s… a long story.  And I can’t tell you any of it.”

“Yeah, of course not.”

“And you better get to bed before you’re missed.”

“Oh, yes, let me just go and act like a completely normal person to my _literally_ telepathic wife after I just found out our kid that we didn’t know existed has been living with us for six years.  Sure.  Piece of cake, that.”

“Come on, I know you can lock stuff down.”

“I’m also an idiot, have you noticed?  A possibly in shock idiot.  With a brain exploding.  An exploding-brained idiot.”

“You’ll be fine.”

"Does it work?" he half-whispered, desperately.  "Is she still there?  Do we get to have more time, all three of us?"

"Spoilers," Milly sighed, but she was smiling.

___

The Doctor slid into bed in a daze.  River rolled over to face him, silently pulling him close, throwing her leg over his hip and nuzzling her face into his chest.  He let out a breath and the tension he’d been unknowingly holding in his body, relaxing into the comfort of her curves pressed against him, her hair tickling his face, and the wonderful, warm smell of her skin that made him want to bury himself in her.  He kissed her hair and her forehead and her eyelids.  She tilted her face up then, eyes still closed, and her lips met his.  She was magic.  She was everything good in the world.  

And they were going to have a family— in fact, they already had.  As much of a shock as it was, that made it quite a lot less terrifying, because he already knew: it was wonderful.  They weren't both too reckless and flighty to have a happy home.  They could actually do this, they could actually keep getting to have this.  It was so much more than he ever imagined he would know again in his life.  And he was going to be able to give River the thing she wanted so badly and thought she could never have.  He was going to save her, and then there would be three of them, together.  Maybe happy ever after didn’t mean forever.  But for them, he was going to make sure it was pretty damn close.


End file.
